Review: Detroit Is Good, But It's Not Great
- Nov 9, 2017
- 2 min read
It's November and that means it's Oscar season. And what a way to open. Detroit, directed by The Hurt Locker's Katheryn Bigelow, ticks all the boxes. It's a true story about an oppressed minority that features a failure of the justice system. It's both competently made and directed, the perfect academy film.
The Algiers Motel, July 25, 1967. All is quiet, or at least as quiet as Detroit during full fledged race riots gets, until shots ring out. First on the scene are the national guard, quickly followed by Detroit PD. What happens next will go down in history as one of the biggest abuses of police power in American history.
Detroit is a good movie, there's no denying that, but it's also a very messy movie, something that Bigelow seems to have difficulty grasping. It is perhaps 20 minutes too long and focuses too much on every thing instead of a single thing. There are three main characters, Melvin Dismukes (John Boyega), Office Phillip Krauss (Will Poulter) and Larry Reed (Algee Smith). Each of them are interesting in their own right but aside from Poulter, who handily steals the show in what is easily his best performance, they aren't given much to do. Boyega, a good actor in his own right, wanders around looking shocked and confused while Smith spends far too long being forlorn, he does it well but it isn't that interesting.
Once the incident at the motel itself has wrapped up we get the aftermath, something that would have made a far more interesting film as a whole, and given the cast a better chance to shine, but here, during the quieter moments, does the films biggest flaw become apparent. They used a very excited dog as the tripod. Or maybe an overactive toddler. Jokes aside, Bigelow can't keep the camera still for a second and it's incredibly distracting.
Ultimately, Detroit is worth checking out. Maybe not at the cinema, as it isn't really a film for the big screen, but flaws aside, it's an interesting, albeit kind of long look into the riots of the 70's, as well as a little of the aftermath.
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